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Chapter

Water Quality Effects on Growth

and Survival of Oreochromis jipe
and Oreochromis niloticus Species in
Aquaculture
Job O. Omweno, Albert Getabu, Reuben Omondi
and Paul S. Orina

Abstract

The study was conducted at Kegati Aquaculture Center (KMFRI) for 12 weeks to
evaluate the effect of water quality parameters on the growth and survival rates of
Oreochromis jipe and Oreochromis niloticus. The fingerlings (n = 270), were stocked in
triplicates in 9m2 raised ponds arranged in double series and fed on a 30% CP ration
twice a day at 10% total bodyweight. Water quality parameters were measured daily
using the YSI multi-parameter meter. Fish total length and bodyweight was deter-
mined biweekly using a measuring board and a digital weighing balance, respectively,
and survivals were determined from the initial and final counts of fingerlings.
Data were analyzed with an unpaired sample t-test using R-software and statistical
significance was considered at p < 0.05. Temperature, total dissolved solids (TDS),
and salinity showed no significant differences, whereas the pH and dissolved oxygen
(DO) levels were significantly different (p < 0.05) between the O. jipe and O. niloticus.
Furthermore, O. jipe attained a lower final mean weight (12.16 ± 0.34 g) compared to
O. niloticus (29.79 ± 0.91 g). The study recommends a further study be conducted in a
controlled culture environment to establish optimal conditions for O. jipe culture.

Keywords: water quality parameters, fingerlings, growth in aquaculture,

Oreochromis jipe, Oreochromis niloticus

1. Introduction

Water quality encompasses all environmental and, to some extent, biological

factors affecting fish growth, survival, and ecology. The most commonly monitored
physicochemical parameters include temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen
concentration (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity, and total
suspended solids [1]. Temperature controls dissolved oxygen (DO), pH levels, and
chemical processes in water. Optimum temperature speeds up fish metabolic rates,
which in turn increases feed consumption to meet the energy demands, while high

1
Water Quality - New Perspectives

temperature and pH increase the ammonia toxicity to aquatic organisms [2, 3].
Temperature also increases the rate of decomposition and affects feed digestion
and assimilation efficiencies in living organisms. The optimum temperatures range
for warm water fish (20–30°C) results in maximum growth and survival of these
organisms [4]. The lower and upper lethal limits for tilapia are 10–11°C and 37–38°C,
respectively [5].
Water pH and DO concentrations regulate the general metabolism and many
physiological processes in the cultured fish, such as nitrite and ammonia toxicity.
Most aquatic organisms perform optimally in DO levels ranging between 5 and
9 mg L−1, while the DO concentrations below 3 mg L−1 and above 9 mg L−1 are det-
rimental to aquatic life [6]. Although tilapias are highly tolerant to low DO levels,
O. niloticus can survive short-term exposure to low DO levels of 0.1 mg L −1 [7], the
optimum performance of the species only occurs at DO concentrations ranging
between 4.2 and 5.9 mg L−1.
Tilapia have been reported to tolerate a range of up to 3.7 and 11.0 pH but the rec-
ommended optimum pH range for most tilapia species is 6.5 to 9.0 [7, 8]. Deviations
above or below this optimum range for the species are likely to bring about behavioral
and physiological adjustments, which affect the growth performance and survival as
fish try to adapt to stressful pH conditions. The highest and lowest lethal pH limits
for most fish species are 3.7 and 11.0 respectively [8]. Low pH decreases the egg
hatchability rates, while massive fish mortalities occur due to prolonged exposure to
toxic un-ionized ammonia whose concentration increases to concentrations greater
than 50% when the pH is greater than nine. Ammonia concentrations higher than
0.2 mg L−1 are detrimental to fish and are known to depress the appetite of tilapia [5].

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Study area

The study experiment was conducted for 12 weeks from September to December
2019 at Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Kegati Aquaculture
Center.
Kegati Aquaculture Center is located in a high-altitude area (1974 m asl) between
latitudes and longitudes 00420 50.44’S and 0344 470 59.4’E as shown in Figure 1. The
center receives an averagely high rainfall amount of 1800 ± 100 mm per annum and has
a mean temperature range of 20.3–23.9°C. It is drained by river Kuja with a total catch-
ment area of 5180 km2 [9]. The sampling stations were selected based on accessibility,
availability of a well-equipped hatchery facility, and technical support for the study.
Six raised wooden ponds measuring 9m2 in a double series and a regular arrange-
ment were randomly assigned to the two treatments in three replicates. The ponds
were filled with screened un-chlorinated spring water through an independent inlet
to 0.6 m level and water exchange was provided through an outlet throughout the
study to promote aeration and siphoning of wastewater containing feed remnants,
bioflocs, and fecal waste at 4 days interval. The mixed-sex O. niloticus and O. jipe
fingerlings with an initial mean weight of 2.93 ± 0.12 g and 2.69 ± 0.10 g, respectively,
were stocked in the raised wooden ponds at a stocking density of 5 fish m-3.
The fingerlings were fed on 1 mm commercial floating pellets with 30% CP.
The daily ration was divided into two equal portions, which were fed regularly to
fish twice a day between 0930 h and 1500 h EAT time throughout the study period
2
Water Quality Effects on Growth and Survival of Oreochromis jipe and Oreochromis…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106361

Figure 1.
Map of the study area at KMFRI – Kegati aquaculture research Center in Kisii County, Kenya.

as recommended by ref. [10]. Fish feed administration was done manually which
enabled regular inspection of the individual fish and close monitoring of the feeding
process, and identifying any dead fish in the pond, which was immediately removed,
and the number of mortalities recorded. The feeding rate was at 10% per calculated
bodyweight of all fish but the daily ration was divided into two halves for feeding the
fish in the morning and afternoon.

2.2 Data collection

Fish growth performance was assessed using average and cumulative bodyweights,
which were taken progressively on fingerlings sampled from each raised pond at
the end of every 2 weeks. A digital electronic balance (TX 4202 L, SHIMADZU -
Corporation, Philippines) with a precision level of 0.01 g was used to record body-
weights. The fish were starved for 24 hours before sampling. Sampling was done very
early in the morning before 0900 h to reduce handling stress, which can cause mortal-
ity of fingerlings. A sample of 30 fish per tank was taken randomly from each raised
pond using a 0.5-inch scoop net. The fingerlings were weighed and returned to their
respective ponds. The fingerlings were blot-dried using filter paper before weighing
as recommended by ref. [11] and the measurements were taken inside the hatchery
to avoid the effects of wind on the digital weighing balance [12]. The fish total length
was measured using a graduated board with a readability of 0.1 cm.
After taking both total length and bodyweight measurements, the fingerlings were
immediately returned to their respective labeled raised wooden ponds and no feeding
was administered until the fingerlings completely recovered from handling stress and
were observed freely swimming in the pond. Any sick fish noticed was removed and
given prophylactic treatment using 5% sodium chloride solution before returning it
to the pond. This was when feeding was administered according to the experimental
design. The progressive length-weight measurements were taken biweekly inside the
3
Water Quality - New Perspectives

hatchery to avoid the effects of wind on the digital balance [12] and the adjustment of
the feeding rates for the fingerlings was done accordingly. Fish survival was deter-
mined by counting all stocked fingerlings in each replicate at the start and the end of
the growth experiment. After recording the total length and bodyweight, the finger-
lings were restocked in their respective culture ponds and feeding resumed after they
were observed to have recovered from stress.
The physicochemical parameters determined during the study were DO (mg L−1),
temperature (°C), pH, conductivity (μS cm−1), TDS, and salinity. The measurements
were regularly taken during the morning hours between 10 am and 11 am through-
out the week before the fish were fed their normal daily ration. The water level was
maintained at 0.6 m and all previous feed remains were removed before new feed-
ing was administered. Water quality variables: temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen
(DO), salinity, conductivity, and total dissolved solids were recorded using the YSI
multi-parameter meter (H9829 model), by taking the readings thrice and finding the
average. The samples for water physicochemical parameters were collected daily in
triplicates and analyzed according to standard methods described by the American
Public Health Association [13].

2.3 Data analysis

The collected data were tested for normality using the Shapiro–Wilk test [14], and
homogeneity of variances using Bartlett’s test. Data were normally distributed and
variances homogenously spread, therefore, an unpaired sample t-test was used to
compare the population means of O. jipe and O. niloticus treatments. The variations
in observed datasets on growth performance, survival rates, and the water quality
variables were compared between O. jipe and O. niloticus treatments using robust
mean ± standard error and range and nonrobust mean ± standard deviation using the
R-software programming procedures [15]. All data analyses were performed using
the 64-bit R-software version 3.6.3 [15], and the observed differences were considered
statistically significant at p < 0.05.

2.4 Determination of growth and survival rates

The fish growth and survival parameters were computed with the following equa-
tions according to [10]:

InWt - InW 0
Specific growth rate ( SGR ) % / day = × 100 (1)
t

Consumed feed ( g )
Feed conversion ratio ( FCR ) = (2)
W 1 - W0
where W0 and W1 are the initial fish weight and the final fish weight (g) of the
fingerlings, in is the natural logarithm, and t is the number of culture days.

final fish count

Survival rate ( % ) = ´ 100 (3)
initialfish count

4
Water Quality Effects on Growth and Survival of Oreochromis jipe and Oreochromis…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106361

Net yield ( kg m -3 ) = Harvest biomass – Stocking biomass (4)

3. Results

3.1 Fish growth, survival, and production parameters

The general growth trend showed that there was a steady gain in bodyweight in
both O. jipe and O. niloticus during the study period. The un-robust comparisons of
combined boxplots and standard deviations show a wide variation in data recorded
from the two treatments. The mean, standard deviations, and variance of fish body-
weights in O. niloticus and O. jipe exhibited a wide range of variation and increased
exponentially during the culture period (Figure 2). The means and standard error
variations for the growth, survival, and production indices of O. jipe and O. niloticus
treatments are shown in Table 1.

3.1.1 Survival rates

Both species recorded high survival rates ranging between 74.6% and 95% in O.
jipe treatment, while in O. niloticus, it ranged between 94.6% and 100%. Hence, the
mean survival rate in O. jipe (92 ± 1.19%) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the
mean survival rate (96.28 ± 0.65%) of O. niloticus treatment. Whereas, O. niloticus
maintained high survival rates throughout the culture period, the lowest survival
rates were recorded in O. jipe treatment due to mortalities that occurred during the
culture period.

3.1.2 Growth parameters

The observed fish growth in terms of bodyweight indicated both species were
initially growing slowly during the first few (1–3) weeks of the culture of the study

Figure 2.
Data variation in Oreochromis niloticus and Oreochromis jipe using a comparison of boxplots and non-robust
mean +/− SD.

5
Water Quality - New Perspectives

Parameter O. niloticus O. jipe n t - test sig.

Mean ± SE Range mean Range

Initial length 4.80 ± 0.39 2.4–7.1 4.67 ± 0.17 1.82–7.85 180 p = 0.23
(cm)
Final length 11.51 ± 0.33 8.1– 9.11 ± 0.72 6.5–12.0 179 p = 0.01
(cm) 16.7
Initial weight (g) 2.93 ± 0.25 0.61– 2.69 ± 0.20 0.82– 180 p = 0.14
5.64 5.05
Final weight (g) 29.79 ± 0.91 17.7– 12.16 ± 1.34 6.78– 179 p < 0.05
55.2 22.39
SGR 2.28 ± 0.21 0.36– 1.45 ± 0.74 0.12– 170 p < 0.05
(gfish−1 day−1) 3.76 4.74
%Weight Gain 4.32 ± 0.32 2.51– 1.58 ± 0.35 0.98– 170 p < 0.05
(gfish−1). 5.67 2.73
DWG 0.32 ± 0.17 0.11– 0.113 ± 0.01 0.07– 170 p < 0.05
(gfish−1 day−1) 0.96 0.17
FCR 1.59 ± 0.12 1.21– 2.502 ± 0.15 2.35–2.57 12 p = 0.02
1.68
Survival rates 96.28 ± 0.95 94.6– 92 ± 1.19 74.6– 35 p = 0.02
(%) 100 95.0
Fish yield 2.59 ± 0.05 2.79– 0.85 ± 0.03 0.79– 170 p < 0.001
(kgm−3) 3.15 0.99

Table 1.
Mean (± standard error) of growth, survival and production parameters for Oreochromis jipe and
Oreochromis niloticus.

but increased exponentially after the second month. The highest and lowest fish total
lengths observed during the final sampling were (16.7 cm and 6.5 cm) in O. niloticus
and O. jipe, respectively. However, despite this wide range of variation observed in the
total length measurements, the two-sample t-test indicated no significant growth dif-
ference (p > 0.05) between the mean final length (TL = 11.51 ± 0.13 cm) of O. niloticus
and O. jipe (TL = 9.11 ± 0.12 cm).
The mean growth in final bodyweight in O. jipe (12.18 ± 35 g) was significantly
lower (t = 2.42, p < 0.05) than the mean final weight (29.79 ± 0.91 g) for O. niloticus
(Figure 3). Similarly, there was a significant difference (t = 2.57, p < 0.05) in the SGR
between the two species; O. jipe had a lower mean SGR (1.45 ± 0.14 g/fish−1 day−1)
in comparison with (2.28 ± 0.26 g fish−1 day−1) O. 3 niloticus. The DWG also showed
the same trend in both species. The DWG for O. niloticus (0.32 ± 0.17 g fish−1 day−1)
was significantly higher (t = 4.62, p < 0.05), than that of O. jipe (0.1128 ± 0.01 g
fish−1 day−1). The %weight gain (WG) of O. jipe (1.58 ± 0.35 g fish-1) was signifi-
cantly lower, (t = 3.57, P < 0.05) compared to the mean weight gain of O. niloticus
(4.48 ± 1.6 g fish−1).

3.1.3 Production parameters

The mean fish yield of O. jipe species was significantly lower (t = 4.46, p < 0.05) in
O. jipe compared to the O. niloticus species. The yield in O. jipe ranged between 0.79
6
Water Quality Effects on Growth and Survival of Oreochromis jipe and Oreochromis…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106361

Figure 3.
Weight gain in cultured Oreochromis jipe and Oreochromis niloticus.

and 0.99 kg m−3, while in O. niloticus it ranged between 2.79 and 3.15 kg m−3. Also,
there was a significant difference (t = 2.5, p < 0.05) in FCR between O. jipe and O.
niloticus species. The mean FCR varied between 2.35 and 2.57, whereas in O. niloticus it
ranged between 1.21 and 1.68 during the culture period. Furthermore, the reciprocal
of FCR (FCR−1) yielded food conversion efficiencies (FCEs) for O. niloticus, which
were significantly higher than those of O. jipe species.

3.1.4 Water quality parameters

The mean values and variation of water quality parameters recorded during the
study are shown in Table 2.
Water temperature showed no significant difference (t = 0.14, p > 0.05) between
O. jipe treatment and the control during the culture period. The highest mean
temperature recorded was 24.3 ± 0.58°C in the O. jipe culture system, while the

O. niloticus O. jipe Unpaired

t-test
Parameter Mean Range Mean Range N
(± S.. E) (± S. E)
Temp. 22.54 ± 0.39 18.5–24.8 22.93 ± 0.31 20.9–26.5 130 p = 0.089
DO 5.94 ± 0.10 4.99 – 6.94 5.04 ± 0.11 4.54–9.37 130 p < 0.001

pH 7.54 ± 0.09 6.88–8.69 8.01 ± 0.13 6.54–9.37 130 p = 0.004

TDS 41.39 ± 3.51 31.6–57.5 40.42 ± 3.53 32.4–56.8 130 p = 0.143
Salinity 0.03 ± 0.003 0.02–0.04 0.03 ± 0.003 0.02–0.04 130 p = 0.173
EC 57.92 ± 4.61 39.7–92.5 57.2 ± 4.55 31.6–89.9 130 p = 0.520

Table 2.
Mean (± S.E) of water quality parameters recorded for Oreochromis niloticus and Oreochromis jipe
treatments.

7
Water Quality - New Perspectives

temperature in O. niloticus treatment ranged between 18.5 and 24.8°C, with a mean of
22.54 ± 0.39°C. However, the DO level was significantly higher (t129 = 4.31, p < 0.05)
in the control, whereas the pH was significantly (t129 = 2.91, p < 0.05) lower in O. jipe
treatment than O. niloticus treatment. The water pH of both culture systems ranged
between 7.34 ± 0.09 and 8.37 ± 0.14, whereas DO concentrations ranged between
4.9 ± 0.20 mg L−1 and 6.75 ± 0.14 mg L−1. Total dissolved solids (TDS), conductiv-
ity, and salinity showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the treatment
and the control. Specifically, TDS and conductivity increased progressively after
replenishing water in the experimental ponds until the water was exchanged again.
However, lower values of conductivity, TDS, and salinity were recorded during the
study. Low salinity could be a result of dilution during the rains and the frequent
replenishment of water.

4. Discussion

The most crucial interpretations of the study findings based on the overall objec-
tive are presented.

4.1 Data variation in O. jipe and O. niloticus culture treatments

The overall variation of the data set is greater for both the O. jipe and O. niloticus
species was due to the outliers which ranged from 5 to 20 standard deviations above
or below the mean of zero determined by the Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression
model [16]. These were attributed to a small number of the faster-growing individu-
als (shooters), which gained weight faster than the rest of the mixed-sex fingerlings,
resulting in un-uniform sizes of fish in each treatment group.

4.2 Growth and survival rates

The study used uniformly homogenous fingerlings, which were expected to grow
uniformly throughout the culture period. Upon release into the pond, the surviving
fingerlings of both species displayed good condition and consumed feed during the
12-hour monitoring period. However, both growth performance and survival rates
of O. jipe were significantly lower than those of O. niloticus. This would have been
due to the faster adaptability of O. niloticus to the aquaculture environment because
of the previously reported good culture attributes [17]. Chenyambuga et al. [18],
confirm that O. niloticus quickly adapts to aquaculture conditions in a comparative
study in which the exotic Nile tilapia, O. niloticus attained a final mean weight of
67.6 ± 2.4 g and SGR of 2.2 ± 0.14 g fish−1 day−1, outperforming O. jipe with a final
mean weight of 16.3 ± 2.0 and SGR of 1.5 g fish−1 day−1 attained within the same
culture period of 90 days. This study however reported lower values of final mean
weight and SGR in O. jipe, probably due to temperature difference between the two
regions. Whereas, [18] recorded a mean temperature of 25.2 ± 2.0°C, the present
study recorded a lower mean temperature of 22.93 ± 0.31°C for the O. jipe species.
This temperature lies below the range of 20–30°C recommended for optimum
growth and survival of most tilapia species [19, 20]. Nevertheless, the findings on
survival rates of O. jipe and O. niloticus agree with the study by [18], who reported
higher survival rates of 95.8% in O. jipe and 100% survival in O. niloticus, suggest-
ing that both species can have exceptionally high survival rates if properly managed
8
Water Quality Effects on Growth and Survival of Oreochromis jipe and Oreochromis…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106361

in the culture system. The findings on survival also concur with Hussain et al. [21],
who reported 100% survival of O. niloticus in a polyculture experiment. These find-
ings on survival however differ from the results of [22], who reported low survival
rates of 25.8% for O. jipe. The low survival rates of O. jipe reported were attributed
to decomposing feed remnants (bioflocs) which were not properly managed in the
culture system during the culture trials.
The present study used an open pond system that is semi-controlled by natural
factors and the siphoning of bioflocs was done before they settled and decomposed at
the pond bottom. This high level of management ensures that the initially slow-grow-
ing fish attained a steady and exponential increase in total length and bodyweight,
which was recorded from the second month onwards. As a result of slow acclimatiza-
tion to the captive environment, both species exhibited nonoptimal performance
[23]. Low DO levels have been reported to cause fish mortalities and other challenges
in the aquaculture production system. The amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by
the fish depends on fish size, feeding rate, activity level, and water temperature. In
this study, the O. jipe species displayed a remarkable reduction in feed intake immedi-
ately after the rains, which might have resulted in the observed low DO levels in this
culture treatment. The same phenomenon has been reported in other cultured fish,
such as Labeo victorianus by [24], in which the accumulation of unconsumed feed
remnants resulted in prolonged low DO levels in the culture ponds, which stressed the
fish, resulting in decreased growth and survival rates. Several studies have reported a
decline in fish weight gain which has been attributed to decreased water temperatures
during cold seasons characterized which directly affect feed intake [21, 25]. This
might have occurred in the present study where water physicochemical parameters
were not controlled although the pH and DO levels were within the recommended
range for tilapia growth [26].

4.3 Water quality parameters

4.3.1 Water temperature

The narrow range of water temperature in both O. niloticus and O. jipe species could
be due to the time that temperature readings were taken during the morning hours, which
was between 9.00 am and 11.00 am daily. The study, however, did not record any lethal
temperature values which range between 10–11°C and 37–38°C, respectively [4]. Although
the mean temperatures for both treatments were within the optimum range of 20–30°C
required for fish growth [4, 5, 27], these temperatures were below the specific optimum
range of 25–30°C recommended for Tilapia growth. The low temperatures could be
attributed to a high altitude location of the study area with low mean ambient temperatures
ranging between 18°C and 26°C. Although water temperature did not show any significant
differences between the O. jipe and O. niloticus treatments, it has been reported that water
temperatures below the range of 20–22°C contribute to a nearly 30% decline in optimal
growth [5]. This could be the reason for the nonoptimal growth performance of O. jipe and
O. niloticus in aquaculture. Probably, the novel species O. jipe were more stressed due to
slow adaptability to the changing physicochemical parameters than O. niloticus.

4.3.2 Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration

The reduction of DO levels in the O. jipe culture system was probably due to low
acceptance of commercial feeds, which were administered in their daily ration. O. niloticus
9
Water Quality - New Perspectives

species on the other hand consumed all the feed provided within a span of 2–3 hours.
This necessitated frequent siphoning of feed remnants that settled at the bottom of O. jipe
ponds and flushing of the culture systems with clean fresh water from the tanks was done
uniformly to all ponds was done every 2 days. Although frequent siphoning was done
regularly, the lack of efficient removal of all bioflocs contributed to the deterioration of
water quality resulting in significant differences in DO levels between the O. jipe and O.
niloticus culture systems. This result on O. jipe DO levels corroborates with the findings of
[22] that attributed low to feed remnants that settled at the bottom of the hapa-in-pond
culture system. Lower DO levels have been reported to decrease feeding and respiration in
most tilapia species and make it difficult for fish to assimilate the consumed feed [5, 28].
In addition, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the raised ponds was insufficient because
the small-sized fingerlings tend to consume additional oxygen to meet the demands for
their increased metabolic rates, which doubles for every 10 degrees increase in water
temperature within the optimum range [29].

4.3.3 pH

The study found that the mean pH (8.01 ± 0.13) of O. jipe treatment was
significantly higher than the mean pH (7.54 ± 0.09) of O. niloticus. Probably,
unconsumed pellets particularly in O. jipe treatment could have been decomposed
under low DO levels to liberate ammonia (NH3), which accounts for the range
of pH values greater than nine. Although ammonia levels were not determined
during the study, studies have shown that ammonia is derived from the breakdown
of nontoxic ammonium ion (NH4+) contained in digestible crude protein and is
a component of total nitrogen highly toxic to fish. However, good water manage-
ment ensured that the pH did not affect the fish growth and survival because it
prevented prolonged exposure of fish to toxic un-ionized ammonia concentrations
of greater than 0.2 mg L−1, which can depress the appetite of Tilapia fish [5]. This
partly explains why the pH was not consistently high during the study but showed
fluctuations between high and low values.

5. Conclusions and recommendation

The study findings showed that the investigated water quality parameters affected
the growth performance and survival rates of O. jipe and O. niloticus cultured using
raised wooden ponds. As a result, both species did not realize their optimal perfor-
mance in the aquaculture environment because the temperature fell below the range
of 25–30°C recommended for tilapia culture. This might have contributed to low
food intake by the species, resulting in low DO and high pH levels. Fish growth was
however influenced by the interplay of unmonitored physicochemical parameters
in an open pond system. However, for the successful introduction of O. jipe species
to aquaculture and optimal growth in the aquaculture environment, it is crucial to
delineate optimal culture conditions for the species. This can be done by monitoring
the effect of water quality parameters on the growth and survival of fish in a con-
trolled fish culture system and monitoring growth for a longer period. The necessity
for a repeat of this experiment in a different culture system, such as hatchery tanks or
a greenhouse, to determine whether the results obtained can be replicated under dif-
ferent cultural conditions. In addition, water quality can be recorded using automatic
sensor detectors, which take the readings over infinitesimal time intervals and the
10
Water Quality Effects on Growth and Survival of Oreochromis jipe and Oreochromis…
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106361

data collected can be modeled using advanced differential models to evaluate several
latent variables in the underlying relationships between water quality and growth
parameters.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the African Development Bank for funding this
research through an MSc Scholarship awarded to Mr. J. O. Omweno. Thanks to the
Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), and Kegati Aquaculture
Center for technical support.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing personal or professional inter-
ests. Further, the funding agency did not play any role in the conceptualization,
design, and implementation of the study, as well as the decision to publish the results.

Ethics, approval, and compliance statement

The study was conducted by following all the applicable guidelines stipulated
by the National Commission for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NACOSTI)
regulations (2014) under the research permit no NACOSTI/P/20/3982 and the Kenya
Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) set by Cap 250 of the Science and
Technology Act (1979), which has since been repealed by the Science, Technology and
Innovation Act (Act no. 28, 2013) and Section 56 of the act that mandates KMFRI to
research marine and freshwater resources.

Author details

Job O. Omweno1*, Albert Getabu1, Reuben Omondi1 and Paul S. Orina2

1 Department of Environment, Natural Resources and Aquatic Sciences, Kisii

University, Kisii, Kenya

2 Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Kegati Aquaculture

Centre, Kisii, Kenya

*Address all correspondence to: omwenojob@gmail.com

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided
the original work is properly cited.
11
Water Quality - New Perspectives
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